Should Teresa Giudice Cut A Deal For The Sake Of Her Kids?

It hasn’t been the best week for Real Housewives star Teresa Giudice. In fact, it’s been a complete and utter disaster. The reality star and her husband Joe Giudice were indicted by the Federal Government on a total of thirty-nine suspected crimes, ranging from wire fraud to mail fraud to hiding assets during bankruptcy to falsifying information on mortgage applications. If convicted, the two could spend thirty years or more in prison, which, given their ages, would represent a majority of the rest of their lives.

Earlier today, Teresa and Joe put up $500,000 each, their passports and their freedom to travel outside of either New York or New Jersey in exchange for a judge allowing the pair to remain free until their upcoming trial. Via her attorney, Teresa vowed to fight the charges with everything she has, but as for what she’ll do once she actually gets in front of a judge, no one really has any idea.

You see, the Federal Government has been after Joe Giudice for quite awhile. His legal problems have frequently been the subject of discussion on Real Housewives of New Jersey, and while Teresa has always vehemently stood by her husband, most observers assume she hasn’t really played a central role in any of these legal issues. Consequently, if she’s interested in making a deal, there’s an extremely good chance the Federal Government would be willing to plead her out in exchange for a very short jail sentence and/ or probation and a fine.

On the one hand, no one wants to plead guilty to anything they don’t feel they were directly responsible for. Admitting as much isn’t a whole lot of fun. Nor is testifying against your own husband. By accepting a plea deal, there’s a very real possibility the Government would make her get on the stand and point the finger at her husband, and in doing so, she would probably help push him into a lengthy jail sentence. Besides, there’s always the chance these two could actually beat the charges. On the other hand, however, there isn’t one single charge to beat. There’s thirty-nine. Someone needs to raise the couple’s four daughters, and if Joe really is guilty, there’s no reason why both of them should go to jail. If she wasn’t really involved in any of the financial crimes, the kids sure as hell weren’t involved in any financial crimes, and they deserve to have at least one parent be there when they graduate high school.

What do you think? Should Teresa cut a deal for the sake of her children? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…